For the uninitiated: Williamsburg is a neighborhood in Brooklyn, and over the past 20 years it was all but destined to become one of the city’s hippest areas, simply because Manhattan rents had grown too expensive for New York’s creative crowd. Williamsburg is not particularly pretty, but it has lots of nice cafés, plenty of hip shops and even more stylish residents, who are turning it into a kind of second Meatpacking District. The Wythe Hotel has opened its doors right in the middle of it all.
First detail: the artist Tom Fruin spelled out the word “Hotel” across four stories of the facade. At night, the letters glow in red neon at the corner of North 11th Street and Wythe Avenue. The building, a former cooperage (a workshop that made wooden barrels and tubs) dating from 1901, was magnificently renovated by Morris Adjmi Architects. All five floors have been completely restored, from the lobby to the roof terrace.
The rooms on the upper floors and Bar Blondeau, the sixth-floor cocktail bar, offer spectacular views of the Manhattan skyline. Downstairs, Le Crocodile serves French brasserie fare from breakfast to late evening. The main attraction is the enormous windows. Only the furnishings of the 69 rooms are a little spare. In return, you get quality: soft terry-cloth towels, homemade ice cream in the minibar and heated concrete floors.
If you’re worried about being too far from the center of Manhattan, don’t be: the subway (the stop is Bedford Avenue) gets you into the city in ten minutes. But most people who stay in Williamsburg end up staying in Williamsburg, taking in how this industrial area has been transformed. By the way, there are some really nice shops here, among them a Paul Smith store at 85 North Third Street.
Ideal for
A three-day weekend getting to know the Williamsburg scene. Hipsters officially welcome!
Booking & Contact
The Wythe Hotel
80 Wythe Ave
Brooklyn (Williamsburg), NY 11249 / USA
hello@wythehotel.com
www.wythehotel.com
